Typical vehicle cooling systems include a low-profile axial fan mounted between a vehicle's liquid-cooled engine and a heat exchanger to draw air through the heat exchanger and thus provide cooling of the engine. Axial fans are advantageous since they may be positioned directly behind the radiator, be driven by the engine, and may be made compact. However, a drawback in using axial fans in engine cooling systems is that these types of fans have efficiencies generally between 40% and 60% and are a significant source of noise in the engine compartment.